


Heavy Burdens

by SensationalSunburst



Category: The Witcher (TV), Wiedźmin | The Witcher (Video Game), Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types, Wiedźmin | The Witcher Series - Andrzej Sapkowski
Genre: Adventure & Romance, BAMF Jaskier | Dandelion, BAMF Yennefer z Vengerbergu | Yennefer of Vengerberg, F/M, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Multi, OT3, Reconciliation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-05
Updated: 2020-04-05
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:27:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,848
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23486785
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SensationalSunburst/pseuds/SensationalSunburst
Summary: As a reward for saving a tree spirit Geralt is promised a cure from his broken heart, but the cure may prove worse than the disease.
Relationships: Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia/Jaskier | Dandelion, Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia/Jaskier | Dandelion/Yennefer z Vengerbergu | Yennefer of Vengerberg, Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia/Yennefer z Vengerbergu | Yennefer of Vengerberg, Jaskier | Dandelion & Yennefer z Vengerbergu | Yennefer of Vengerberg
Comments: 18
Kudos: 196





	Heavy Burdens

“Jaskier.” 

He appeared like a ghost on the sunny path halfway to Novigrad in the heartbeat between Jaskier looking down to tighten a string and back up again. The bard’s slick bottomed boots kicked up a cloud of dust as he skidded to a stop, more startled at the sudden appearance of another person than their identity. After all, there was no better tracker than Geralt of Rivia.

Jaskier hadn’t seen the witcher in months since their falling out on the mountain. He hadn’t heard a peep from rumor mills or whispers from gossiping innkeepers about the White Wolf at all. He’d even found _Yennefer_ and to both of their surprise, found that she was far better company without the distraction of their unconscious competitions for Geralt’s attention. But Geralt had seemingly vanished.

He’d seen nor heard of hide nor hair of the man in months and yet, there he was, looking alarmingly thin and drawn like he’d been on the hunt for days. He was clearly haggard and visibly filthy, but his amber eyes glinted like gemstones, full of life.

Geralt’s broad shoulders drooped as the silence dragged on, causing his hair, free of its usual half ponytail, to cascade over his forehead to hide his face. “Forgive me, Jaskier. You were right all along. You were my friend, but I treated you poorly. I apologize.”

“Geralt?” Jaskier felt his face drop into a snarl, smothering his concern and confusion in a thick layer of anger, “What the fu-” 

The suddenly howling wind drowned out Jaskier’s voice and forced him to cover his eyes with his arm as a massive curl of dust cut viciously across the road. The ferocity of the sound was almost enough to cover the thundering roar of an opening portal.

“Farewell, Dandelion.” 

“You can’t just fuc-” The words were snatched from Jaskier’s throat as vines as thick as men’s arms unfurled from a sickly green portal screaming behind Geralt. They curled lazily around his arms and legs and slithered to wrap themselves securely about his torso. One massive emerald leaf seemed to stroke the side of his face before nuzzling under his chin like a dog. 

Geralt didn’t seem to notice. 

He stood unnervingly still, mouth twisted into a crooked grin as he stared into Jaskier’s eyes like he still had the right to use his nickname, like he was _fond_ of him. 

Like he’d never see him again. 

Geralt heaved a great sigh and as if on cue, the coils of vines around his person snapped taut and snatched him cleanly off his feet, through the portal and out of sight. It closed as abruptly as it opened, popping out of existence as if it had never been there at all. 

“-the fuck?” Jaskier gaped.

Geralt couldn’t do magic like that.

He _despised_ portals. 

Jaskier blinked for a moment, staring at the scar the portal had left on the road. Then, he reached into his doublet and crushed the tiny vial that sat against his chest between his fingers.

It took only a few heartbeats for Yennefer to appear, tearing open her own hole through time and space, its color warm and familiar. She looked feral, hands glowing with purple fire and a snarl on half-painted lips, already on the offensive as she stepped out, half-dressed, raven hair dripping water down obsidian robes. It took her only seconds to survey the area, spot no threat, and snatch Jaskier up by his collar. 

“What the fuck do you think “emergency” means?” 

“Geralt’s been kidnapped,” Jaskier said. 

* * *

Jaskier described what he saw- Geralt, the portal, the vines, the apology, and goodbye, gesturing to the burnt scar in the earth. Yennefer had been unnervingly silent after as she snapped her fingers and changed her outfit, opting for tall boots and pants which, more than anything, indicated that Geralt had gotten himself into some deep shit. 

“This is… ancient magic.” She said, gloved fingers tracing the ground, “Fearless. Its trail is like a string of lanterns.” 

“So you can follow it?” 

Yennefer caught her bottom lip on her teeth, “Obviously.” 

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” She snapped, “We just need to be careful.”

She dragged her hand through the dirt, coating her obsidian gloves with earth before holding one hand in front of her and the other above. She began chanting in what was unmistakably Elder as the hand held aloft burst into purple flames. Within moments another portal opened where the other had closed, familiar in its fiery borders and the rumbling sound of the vortex.

It opened at the base of a tree so large that it’s upper branches were beyond view, hidden amongst the canopy of the smaller trees posted around it like so many toy soldiers. Yennefer didn’t recognize the woods or even half of the flowers blooming in a carpet at its base, but it was undoubtedly magically in origin, perhaps even pre-Conjunction. There was no other explanation for the swell of peace, the cacophony of birdsong or the herds of deer that paid the sudden appearance of a portal and two humans no mind. 

A massive cave carved into the base of the tree just in front of them, it's smooth maw illuminated by strings of glowing mushrooms fading back into absolute darkness. 

“He’s in there.” Yennefer said. 

“How do you know?” 

“I can feel him.” 

Jaskier tightened his lute across his back, took a deep breath and ran.

* * *

“There’s no way this cave is this fucking long,” Jaskier skipped over another malicious root, sticking the landing in a way that, under different circumstances would have warranted celebration. Yennefer was silent, eyes narrow and almost glowing beside him. She was lightning their way with a lantern spell that danced in front of them like a will-o'-the-whisp, but its glow was fading as a light grew at the end of the tunnel, lapping out into the darkness from a great wooden archway. 

They tore through the opening side by side and out into a low ceilinged cavern. The walls appeared to be made entirely of roots, spilling out to frame the circle of the stone flooring at its center and rising back up at the rear of the room. 

In the center of the stone circle, Geralt wilted, crashing to knees and slumping to the side, his back to the entryway. 

Jaskier dove for the witcher, going down just in time to feel the heat of Yennefer’s ball of fire sail over his head. Inches from the unmoving slump of Geralt's body, he slammed into an invisible wall and toppled backward with a discordant clang from his lute strings, skidding against the tile to settle back at Yennefer’s feet. 

“Be careful!”

Jaskier only noticed the girl standing beside Geralt when the stars cleared from his eyes, “You could have burnt him.” 

She looked a lot like Ciri, Jaskier realized as he wiped the blood streaming from his nose with the back of his hand. They were roughly the same size with the same ashen hair, but the girl’s face was unquestionably fae, undoubtedly inhuman like the ever-changing green hue to her eyes. She was dressed in shades of brown, barklike in appearance, but her robes flowed like silk as she removed Geralt’s swords from his back and gently rolled him over. He didn’t so much as twitch when the stranger touched his most prized possessions and when she shifted to stand, it was clear his eyes were closed, face slack as if asleep. The girl hefted his swords like they weighed nothing and placed them gently on his chest before folding his hands over the sheathed blades. 

“What have you done?” Jaskier hardly recognized the garbled sound that escaped Yennefer’s throat as her voice. 

“Done?” The girl asked. 

“What have you done to him?” Jaskier asked, “Who are you? _Why_?” Yennefer bent to help him stand, a steadying, or perhaps restraining, hand clawed around his elbow. 

“I am the branch of Birke fulfilling my promise.” 

“What promise?” Yennefer was trying to calm herself judging by her measured breathing, but Jaskier’s shaking was intensifying by the second. His eyes kept flitting to Geralt's chest, anxiously waiting for his chest to rise with breath. The girl tilted her head to the side, visibly confused.

“I see,” She nodded and stepped back, gesturing to Geralt with a nod, “I shall explain.” 

Jaskier took it for retreat and lurched forward hard enough to drag Yennefer with him. He dropped to the ground and jammed fingers to Geralt’s neck, choking on a scream when nothing beat back against his fingertips. 

“Gods,” Jaskier moaned, “Gods, no, Yen. _Yennefer_.”

The girl ignored him and kept her eyes on Yennefer, “The Witcher Geralt of Rivia destroyed the pests that were eating me, in return, I promised to heal his heart. When I told him I’d have to take it he asked if he would be allowed to finish the task Above before we started. I have been told it is unkind to leave tasks unfinished, so I gave him two solstices. He’s quite agile, so he said he could easily finish by then.” She was smiling, pleased with herself, and judging by the smile she gave the Witcher’s body, by Geralt as well. “So now I must fix his heart, as promised.” 

She was holding something behind her back, Yennefer realized, something she hadn’t had until she’d placed her hand atop Geralt’s chest to move him. 

“I’ve never seen one quite like it,” the girl said, “You should see it.” 

Yennefer’s knees grew weak when the girl pulled Geralt’s heart out from behind her back. The muscle was large, dwarfing the girl’s hands and covered in deep, glowing scars. They looked like veins of gemstones, softly glowing and oscillating between deep purple, sapphire, and sickly green. 

“You are the Sorceress Yennefer of Venderberg,” The Branch pointed towards a line on the heart as it flickered to purple, “These are yours. The Bard Jaskier No Julian But He Goes By Jaskier’s are here.” She tilted the heart towards Yennefer as the scar pulsed sapphire. 

Yennefer’s hands twitched as she resisted the urge to snatch the heart. Absurdly, she almost felt like laughing as Geralt’s heart gave another tired thump at the same pace, she realized, as it would beat if in his chest. 

“How can you fix it if you _took it_?” Jaskier’s voice flopped limply past bloodless lips, hands shaking where they were clawed in Geralt’s armor. He’d pulled the witcher’s head into his lap, bent over his face as if he were getting ready to try to haul him from the cave. His body was still warm, despite his utter stillness and the lack of air moving through his lungs, but the silence under his palms had tears mixing with the blood already drying on his lips. 

“ _Oh_.” The Branch’s mouth dropped open into a perfect ‘O’ before her expression softened to something that looked almost like pity, “You fear for him.” 

“You tore his heart out!” Jaskier cried, even as Yennefer snarled his name in warning. The Branch nodded and approached Jaskier to kneel before him, broadcasting every move as if she were dealing with a wounded animal. 

“Have no fear The Bard Jaskier No Julian But He Goes By Jaskier, he lives. You can help me. It will be easier, I think, with your help.” She waited, eyes locked with Jaskier until he nodded stiffly, still shuddering. A brilliant smile bloomed across her face and she scooted closer on her knees, hands outstretched.

“Hold it and close your eyes.” 

“What?” 

The Branch carefully handed Geralt’s heart to Jaskier, placing her hands on top of the muscle in a mirror of where Jaskier, green around the gills, cradled it from underneath. “Close your eyes and _listen_.” 

Yennefer nodded when Jaskier looked at her in panic, projecting the thought to play along into his mind. 

His eyes flickered closed, eyebrows low. 

Abruptly, Jaskier went still, face slack as a renewed stream tears began to pour down his face. Yennefer, lost, sank to her knees at his side. 

“I could never hate you, you utter _fool_ ,” Jaskier said. 

The effect on the heart was immediate. 

The gemstone-like veins crisscrossing the surface lit up with brilliant sapphire light before fading as the heart gave another steady thump. A vein that encircled a good third of the heart cracked with the sound of breaking glass before falling to the ground and crumbling into dust. 

It didn’t pulse blue again.

Jaskier’s eyes opened but he didn’t lift his gaze from Geralt’s face. He bent forward and rested his head against Geralt’s motionless chest. 

“Your turn The Sorceress Yennefer of Venderberg.” 

Yennefer took the heart in hands that shook, unable to still them as the Branch placed her hands atop the heart. 

“Close your eyes and _listen,_ ” The Branch instructed. 

Yennefer closed her eyes and struggled to hear anything over the pounding of her blood in her ears and the soft, pitiful sobs slipping from the bard’s folded form. 

But then, she heard him; a soft, morose whisper among windswept ruins. 

_... orry… to sav…_

Above her, Yennefer could hear leaves rustling like a sigh. The darkness behind her eyelids lifted like the sunrise and she could see the white of Geralt’s hair in the hollow of a massive oak tree above her. The roots twisted about the massive base made for easy climbing and she scrambled towards the source of his voice as quickly as she could manage, heart thumping as she pulled herself up and into the cave-like opening. The hollow was big enough for two or three people to stand in comfortably, big enough to even build a fire in, but Geralt was a ball in its furthest corner, eyes nearly glowing in the shadows. 

“ _I’m sorry, Yen, but you deserved a second chance.”_ His eyes tracked her in spurts, like he could truly see her before something in the branches swinging outside the darkness of his hiding place caught his attention. “ _I didn’t- nobody should be bound to me. I wished that I could help you.”_

“Geralt.” Yennefer stepped closer, nearly growling at the painful swoop in her stomach as he began to repeat himself. 

“ _I’m sorry, Yen, but you deserved a second chance.”_

“I’m not a damsel in distress, I’ve never needed you to save me.” She said. Geralt blinked, eyes lazily drifting towards her. He was there, she knew, deep within his mind, but he couldn't focus. His pupils dilated, growing the longer he looked at her and the subtle smile that had settled on his face slipped away. “If I wanted your help, I would ask for it. Geralt? Geralt, look at me.” Yennefer stepped close when he grew silent, eyes slipping closed and placed her hands on either side of his face. A shake revealed slivers of amber, and she waited until the haze in his eyes cleared and the cat-like slits of his pupils shrank to more or less normal size before continuing, “What I want from you, Geralt, is your companionship. Your company.”

Yennefer blinked and found herself back in the cave, Geralt’s heart shining bright purple in her palms. The Branch was beaming at her, eyes like spring grass as the purple veins of stone cracked and crumbled to the ground. They shrank as they fell, turning to dust and then nothing before they touched the ground.

“Well done, The Sorceress Yennefer.” The Branch said. She took the heart from Yennefer’s trembling hands with a beatific smile and cradled it to her chest with one hand. With her other she reached up to pat Yennefer’s shoulder, sending a cascade of warmth through her. 

“Well done, well done,” The Branch chittered as she sank to kneel at Geralt’s side, “So much faster with help. You mortals are as ephemeral as leaves, so beautiful and vibrant but so fragile.” 

She swayed with happiness, ashen hair dusting the stone floor as she took Geralt's heart and pressed it to his chest just below Jaskier's bent head. Geralt's heart gave another steady thump before, without ceremony, disappearing through his armor and into his chest. 

Yennefer went to her knees at Geralt's side, grabbing one of his limp hands with both of her own. 

Geralt's broad chest expanded with a gasp and a violent twitch, causing his swords to partially slide from his chest. Jaskier gasped out a wet laugh and sat up to lean against Yennefer's slumped shoulders. 

"Jask?" Geralt's voice rumbled through her fingertips to restart her heart, "Yen?" His amber eyes were cloudy with confusion but there was something like a smile twitching at the corner of his mouth as they drifted back and forth between her and Jaskier.

"You," she snarled, "are a fucking _idiot_."

Geralt let out an exhausted chuckle and hummed in agreement. 

“What are you smiling for, you brute.” Jaskier was going for a snappish tone, but the tears still thick in his voice ruined the effect. 

“My heart,” Geralt rumbled, squeezing Yennefer’s and Jaskier’s hands back, “feels light as a feather.” 

**Author's Note:**

> As always, thank you so much for reading! Please feel free to leave a comment below!
> 
> Title from Howl's Moving Castle


End file.
